A LaSalle County judge this afternoon said he had to give a Morris man jail time for obstructing courthouse security last year. But 29-year old Jacob Farmer can do it on three weekends. One of them won’t be the weekend of September 11th when he puts on a patriotic event in Morris called Toots for Troops. Farmer invited Judge H. Chris Ryan to it and Ryan said it’s a good event. Farmer also got two years of court supervision and $686 in fines and court costs.
Farmer says he’s had a lot of growth and reflection since he and his sister Angel tried to get into the Etna Rd. courthouse in Ottawa in defiance of rules against taking cell phones into the courtroom side. So do the people he called to testify at his sentencing hearing. They included his boss, a reverend, and Angel. She’s still facing charges from the scuffle at the courthouse door. They described him as hard working, passionate, and always willing to help.
Calling themselves Justice Jake and Accountability Angel in online videos, the brother and sister have shot videos in public buildings in the name of keeping government open and honest. But there are rules against shooting videos and taking photographs in some places and few people see doing it anyway for its own sake as shining sunlight on government workings.
Prosecutor Jason Goode and Judge H. Chris Ryan agreed Farmer’s story is one about two different people. Goode said the Jason Farmer he’s dealt with has been professional and courteous. But he asked, “Am I getting this guy because he has something hanging over his head?” The judge said he believes Farmer will stay out of trouble and avoid physical confrontations. “You’ve come a long way. I don’t think I’ll ever see you again,” Ryan said. The judge said nobody’s perfect and people change. He said Farmer must avoid physical confrontations and fight for what he believes in the right way.
Farmer said, “Sometimes you have to be put in a tough spot to learn a tough lesson.” He said he was a hot head at the beginning of the case and thought he knew what was going on, but he developed a new perspective after illnesses and deaths in his family since then. He says he’s seeing a bigger picture now.
Offered the chance to apologize to the Shaw Media news reporter he flipped off in the same courtroom last year, Farmer said he was agitated, had a large lapse in judgment, and could have had calm words outside. The gesture got Farmer a contempt of court ruling that could have cost him $500 and six months in jail. After the apology, Ryan said he would not issue any sanctions for it.